Raeesah Khan, darling of Singapore millennials, resigns as opposition MP after lying in parliament
- Khan had earlier admitted to lying in parliament when she took the police to task over a rape investigation
- The 28-year-old lawmaker’s resignation is a setback for the main opposition Workers’ Party after its breakthrough result in last year’s general election
Observers had earlier said Raeesah Khan’s resignation would prove to be a major test for the Workers’ Party, to which she belonged. The party said in a statement that she had resigned from the party, which under the law meant she automatically vacated her seat as an MP in the 104-seat legislature.
Khan stunned citizens – used to a more staid politics – when on November 1 she admitted to misleading the legislature. Subsequently, she was referred to the parliamentary committee for breach of parliamentary privilege.
“With a heavy heart, I write to resign as Member of Parliament for Sengkang GRC,” Khan, who was the youngest MP in the 104-seat legislature, said in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin that she posted on Facebook on Tuesday evening. “I wish to reiterate my apology to the house, to the people of Sengkang and my volunteers,” she said in the letter.
